The 2026 One Maryland One Book (OMOB) celebration will continue at The University of Baltimore on Wednesday, Nov. 4 beginning at 7 p.m., when this year's selected author, Lawrence Burney, B.A. '14, will bring his OMOB book, No Sense in Wishing, a critically acclaimed memoir published in 2025, to campus for a discussion with fellow UBalt alumnus D. Watkins, B.A. '09, MFA '14, assistant professor in the Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences and an award-winning author, producer, and radio host.
The event, free and open to the public, will take place in the Town Hall in the H. Mebane Turner Learning Commons, 1415 Maryland Ave. The discussion will be followed by a Q&A with the audience and a reception. Signed copies of No Sense in Wishing will be available in the lobby.
Lawrence Burney is a writer, editor, critic, and the founder of True Laurels, an independent magazine covering Baltimore's music and culture scene. His work has appeared in New York Magazine, GQ, The Washington Post, and Pitchfork. He has worked as an editor at The Fader, as a staff writer at VICE, and an editor and reporter at The Baltimore Banner. His first book, No Sense in Wishing, a collection of essays, was published in July 2025, and has gone on to capure critics across the country. No Sense In Wishing was named a Best Book of 2025 by Kirkus Reviews, The New Yorker, and New York Magazine.
The book also was named the 2026 recipient of the One Maryland One Book spotlight, a statewide collective reading initiative which places it in the hands of students, educators, and culture workers throughout Maryland. Burney's second book, Sing Back To Me, a narrative history and critical assessment of electronic dance music made across the Black Atlantic, will be published in 2028.
Maryland Humanities created One Maryland One Book "to bring together diverse people in communities across the state through the shared experience of reading the same book. We invite you to participate in book-centered discussions and related programs at public libraries, high schools, colleges, museums, bookstores, and community and senior centers around the state."
This is the second year in a row that a University of Baltimore graduate received the OMOB accolade. Kin: Rooted in Hope, by Carol Boston Weatherford, MFA '82, was the 2025 selection.
The University of Baltimore's Klein Family Center of Communications Design and UBalt's Bogomolny Library are serving as co-hosts of this event.
One Maryland One Book is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities, Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Maryland State Library Agency, the Deutsch Foundation, the Baker Foundation, BGE An Exelon Company, and the Baltimore County Commission on Arts and Sciences.
Learn more about Burney and the One Maryland One Book celebration.